Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[Nwales Bus]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(01/02/2018 18:20)E208 WBG Wrote:  As far as im aware both 1/1A and 15 are fully commercial between both operators but ran as a QBP

Evenings and Sundays on the 15 are under contract to Cheshire West & Chester Council

[chester285]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(30/01/2018 16:08)iMarkeh Wrote:  I wasn't meant to be a contradiction, it was meant more there haven't been 'big changes' and was showing the biggest change which is relatively small compared to Rock Ferry. I suppose it sounds like a contradiction but wasn't meant to be. I don't feel the X8 is a big change anymore. It was at the time then they added stops and now it is nothing new really. The X8 is actually slower than the number 1 is going to Zoo, Cheshire Oaks or Ellesmere Port. The route is now only faster to Eastham and beyond. The Zoo adds on 10 minutes to the journey time which takes hardly anyone especially at the stupid times it is served. 0621 L, 0723 L, 0807 L, 0809 C, 1939 C, 2009 C (L-towards Liverpool, C-towards Chester). The number 1 doesn't serve the zoo at these times for a reason. A prime time for the X8 could be peak times and making, not even daft but a stupid diversion adds on time which will easily discourage people. The zoo doesn't open until at least 10am and closes at 5pm the majority of the time. The evenings can be as late as 6pm so understandably some later services for staff and some earlier but the times I have stated are ludicrous. Many a time I am on the 07:00 X8 and it picks up and drops no one off. To add, it is always early by the time it gets to the zoo so I would say it is safe to say you can cut off 12 minutes from that journey alone. That can be the difference between choosing to use the bus and using a car or train. If the X8 was faster, by all means, it is a big change but now since the extra stops on the wirral and diversion into Chester zoo, it isnt. The Enviro 300s used to fly along the route depending on the driver. Since the E400MMCs were introduced, journeys are longer. Yes more capacity which is good and I support, the actual vehicles are slower. The Exeter park and ride vehicles will reduce the time a little.

I'm sure there is a reason as to why Stagecoach changed 51, 7, 9, 6 etc but in almost all cases their excuse is 'not enough passengers'. The 51 and 53 now use Solos which CAN (not always) be overcrowded and I know on the 51 especially, it is stopping a lot more frequently at almost every stop. The 51 is mainly older people so as it is, the boarding time is increased then add on stopping at every bus stop almost. The 51 used to take around 28 minutes (they were always early at Weston Grove shops so if retimed, it would have taken probably 26 mins). Now drivers are struggling to complete it in 30 due to the extra passengers. Things like increasing the frequency would actually help punctuality on the 51 as then the passengers would be spread over the route. As for the 53, now smaller buses are in use, they are getting very busy quite quickly lately. It seems to be becoming quite a popular route somehow.

7s and 9s I don't know as I don't use them but they seem reasonable. The 30 min looks like it works better. (Ignore previous comments about the 9, it appears Westminster Road now has a width restriction.

I will certainly agree that it is all a step in the right direction given the recent contract wins and with any luck, they will keep winning and the investment in Rock Ferry does have an impact into Chester obviously with the gold 1s. Is it wrong at this point to say I liked Firsts fleet a bit more? The Marshalls, Beavers and deckers were amazing. The Solars were my favorite. I get from operational side of view and due to laws regarding DDA, all these many buses are no longer in operation and I do think stagecoach' approach to maintenance is much better in that less vehicle types, the cheaper maintenance is (more spare parts around, less driver and mechanic familiarisation.

In Chester you can tell we aren't as important. At Rock Ferry and Gillmoss any sort of cancellation or even minor delay is posted. Their football services are almost spammed on the twitter. Chester post once in a blue moon and that is normally a depot wide post about delays around the whole town. Nothing is really posted promoting any service except the X8.

C56 is a fantastic opportunity to make it hourly if given the right advertising around Wrexham to promote only £4 to Chester. I say it to many people, on the side of the bus, it means nothing. Buses only spend so long on stands to be see or can go too fast for you to notice the prices. You need to promote it with leaflets and advertisements in the city centre. To add, promotions on social media can be shared(retweeted) to get the word out more. Word of mouth is no longer a suitable form of advertising. People rarely talk to eachother anymore and even more rarely ask for help or information. People get stuck in their ways and won't change until they can see a big enough reason to change. Savings on tickets are and obvious one to get more people onboard. Especially the youth, they will wait for the cheaper buses but never ask for prices or information. They ask a mate who know one bus going in the right direction. If more widely advertised and known about, it will be valuable. The Wrexham has a massive market for journeys into Chester. I don't know why, but it is evident with the frequency of the Arriva 1. Social media advertising costs nothing but can make a big impact on all services, the C56 is just an example.

When did an MAN move to Chester? Are these going to be the replacement for the Eclipse which are nearly 9 years old?

I wouldn’t of thought they would replace them with buses that are 6months younger regarding postings of cancellations etc chester post on a regular basis so I’m not sure where your coming from on that

[iMarkeh]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(01/02/2018 21:47)chester285 Wrote:  I wouldn’t of thought they would replace them with buses that are 6months younger regarding postings of cancellations etc chester post on a regular basis so I’m not sure where your coming from on that

I thought the MANs were newer than that. They look and feel it.

You can see which routes are posted more often and at other times you can see what matters by which services get recovered quickest. 51 is occasionally posted but it always seems to be from a 53 delay or breakdown. I know they interwork but the 51 runs along the back of the depot. They could quite easily reinstate that quickly. They seem to have issue on 53 then the 51 doesn't run then they suddenly have a bus spare by the next 53. The C56 is posted regularly so that is obviously a valuable route. X8 is the most common Chester post as it a big money earner. You don't see it hardly when the G3 is late or Blacon (quite a few diversions happen in Blacon over time and Stagecoach rarely post details of that) and I and many others know the G3 was running over 20 minutes late over Christmas due to greyhound park traffic yet nothing was posted on twitter most cases.

The majority of Chester's posts are Chester wide (general traffic in the city) or major incident (queensferry roads the other day and the swing bridge near Frodsham) not much is posted for minor things. You look at Gillmoss, they say temp traffic lights are somewhere and may cause delays which pre warns you. Birkenhead reported the other day about a 6 minute delay. I can tell you, delays can be much higher than that and not reported.
Also on the subject the numerous posts stating peak traffic is delaying buses, the dvsa guide to running buses states in section 3 that you should consider before registering a service if it will take longer at peak times. Stagecoach shouldn't need to post peak time traffic is delaying services, they should have registered the times to change to improve the reliability. The posts are almost every day meaning it is not unforseen therefore should be registered to accommodate the peak time delays.

[chester285]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(02/02/2018 07:53)iMarkeh Wrote:  I thought the MANs were newer than that. They look and feel it.

You can see which routes are posted more often and at other times you can see what matters by which services get recovered quickest. 51 is occasionally posted but it always seems to be from a 53 delay or breakdown. I know they interwork but the 51 runs along the back of the depot. They could quite easily reinstate that quickly. They seem to have issue on 53 then the 51 doesn't run then they suddenly have a bus spare by the next 53. The C56 is posted regularly so that is obviously a valuable route. X8 is the most common Chester post as it a big money earner. You don't see it hardly when the G3 is late or Blacon (quite a few diversions happen in Blacon over time and Stagecoach rarely post details of that) and I and many others know the G3 was running over 20 minutes late over Christmas due to greyhound park traffic yet nothing was posted on twitter most cases.

The majority of Chester's posts are Chester wide (general traffic in the city) or major incident (queensferry roads the other day and the swing bridge near Frodsham) not much is posted for minor things. You look at Gillmoss, they say temp traffic lights are somewhere and may cause delays which pre warns you. Birkenhead reported the other day about a 6 minute delay. I can tell you, delays can be much higher than that and not reported.
Also on the subject the numerous posts stating peak traffic is delaying buses, the dvsa guide to running buses states in section 3 that you should consider before registering a service if it will take longer at peak times. Stagecoach shouldn't need to post peak time traffic is delaying services, they should have registered the times to change to improve the reliability. The posts are almost every day meaning it is not unforseen therefore should be registered to accommodate the peak time delays.

The mans are only 59 plates making them 6 months younger than the 09 plates

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(24/01/2018 05:59)iMarkeh Wrote:  It appears I misread. I do apologize, it was a variation. I'm sure I read cancellation though. I was possibly tired at the time. CWACC website reports the change as the 15:45 introduced from Chester to Wrexham (I think it the 'recovery' time will be shifted more towards Chester) and timing changes to improve reliability (it seems to run fine as it is. I dont know the current situation but the buses were running along the ring road right through the traffic into Eagles Meadow and not going via High Street in Wrexham which is much quieter traffic wise. I think if Stagecoach did more advertising on the route, it could become a money spinner given that it is £1.50 cheaper than Arriva and serves more central stops in Wrexham (High Street and Eagles Meadow as well as the bus station). It is less frequent but as a few people use the service, it can only grow from there.

Stagecoach could make some of the Wales routes commercial I think but they need to advertise a little bit more and had a better presence in certain areas. I am surprised the SPs are still under funding, unless they are trying to milk it. They seem to get very busy with weeklys especially in the morning (07:15 from Mold is normally 1/2-3/4 full seated by Buckley Aldi mostly weeklys). So much potential for Stagecoach on their welsh routes to compete and win but at the same time not annoy Arriva. Simple things can make big money. No one listens though.

You are right that they need to advertise their Welsh services more. These are bizarrely omitted from their Chester travel map but the timetables are included in the booklet.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(01/02/2018 17:46)mtl97 Wrote:  When are the blacon & saughall buses up for renewal with the partnership with cheshire west council & arriva

The Arriva Pulsars are in the process of refurbishment, with at least 3142/43 done. I saw both and rode 3143 last Saturday.

I also saw Stagecoach 21262 refurbished with Stagecoach moquette, retaining high-back seats. I wonder whether the rest of the batch will follow?

[buses7675 (Website Founder)]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
One of the Stagecoach B7RLEs I went on in November (can't remember which one now!) had leather trim seats, Stagecoach logos stitched into the headrests but the seat frames were the original FirstGroup purple ones.

Very nice mind, I just wasn't aware any were done like that at the time.

[iMarkeh]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(03/02/2018 23:15)Metroline1511 Wrote:  The Arriva Pulsars are in the process of refurbishment, with at least 3142/43 done. I saw both and rode 3143 last Saturday.

I also saw Stagecoach 21262 refurbished with Stagecoach moquette, retaining high-back seats. I wonder whether the rest of the batch will follow?

This is only in moquette because it was ex P+R, all Blacon Pointer vehicles are leather seats. I doubt they will refurb them again. To be fair, this refurbishment was useless, recovered the seats which was good but then they put the TV screens in which show total fitness, X8 and city sightseeing adverts and put wifi onboard. Arrivas screens afaik are going to be set up with next stop displays. Stagecoach should have done that but kept it for advertisements and CCTV on some vehicles. I expect when the replacement vehicles come in, things will be different with the screens only showing CCTV and seating being proper Stagecoach colors etc. I guess it is just a waiting game. I guess it will be 200MMCs which I hope not but the Eclipse will need replacing soon with it 1. not being Stagecoach standard and 2. getting old.

[clarkethomas94]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(04/02/2018 01:36)buses7675 Wrote:  One of the Stagecoach B7RLEs I went on in November (can't remember which one now!) had leather trim seats, Stagecoach logos stitched into the headrests but the seat frames were the original FirstGroup purple ones.

Very nice mind, I just wasn't aware any were done like that at the time.

only 21261 is like that a the moment. got done just before christmas. 21260 is also the only one of the batch to retain first leather seats. the rest have been refurbished with light and dark grey leather. 21262 has been refurbished for a while now as was originally a p&r bus.

[YN05 WKE]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(04/02/2018 18:22)clarkethomas94 Wrote:  only 21261 is like that a the moment. got done just before christmas. 21260 is also the only one of the batch to retain first leather seats. the rest have been refurbished with light and dark grey leather. 21262 has been refurbished for a while now as was originally a p&r bus.

Is 21262 the only P&R one to stay at Chester, seen it last week for the first time in a long while